Golf results, May 3

Associated Press

Updated 10:57 pm, Saturday, May 3, 2014

Phil Mickelson's best round of the year wasn't enough for him to stay in the lead Saturday at the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte, N.C., just enough to give him a chance to end his slowest start to a season in 11 years.

J.B. Holmes overpowered Quail Hollow on a good day for scoring, making a 20-foot birdie putt from the fringe on the final hole for a 6-under 66. That wound up giving him a one-shot lead when Martin Flores made his only bogey on the final hole. Mickelson had a 63 and was two shots behind.

Flores hit his tee shot into the creek left of the 18th fairway and missed a 20-foot par putt, settling for a 69 that at least put him in the final pairing with Holmes.

They'll be looking at Mickelson, who filled the course with one big cheer after another. Mickelson rolled in birdie putts of 30 feet on No. 4 and 40 feet on the par-3 sixth hole and went out in 29. He took the outright lead with a 7-iron from 216 yards into 10 feet on the 13th hole and closed with a par as exciting as some of his birdies. After having to lay up out of a fairway bunker, his wedge spun by the hole and left him a tap-in for par.

"Just to be in contention, and to have a chance at a golf course that I've become so close to over the years, I'm excited about tomorrow's round," Mickelson said.

Not since 2003 - his last winless year on the PGA Tour - has Mickelson gone this deep into the season without a victory.

LPGA Tour: Stacy Lewis shot a 2-under 69 even while missing several makeable putts to grab a share of the lead with Meena Lee after three rounds at the North Texas LPGA Shootout in Irving.

Lewis, the third-ranked player in the world, looked down in frustration after missing a birdie chance at the 18th hole. The Texan matched Lee (70) at 9-under 204. Suzann Pettersen, Dori Carter and Julieta Granada all shot 68s and were a stroke behind the leaders.

Champions Tour: Bernhard Langer shot a 4-under 68 to open a three-stroke lead at the Insperity Invitational in The Woodlands, Texas.

European Tour: Anders Hansen of Denmark holed three straight birdies to close his round of 5-under 67 and move into a share of the lead with Thailand's Panuphol Pittayarat after the third round of the Championship at Laguna National in Singapore.

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